Break Down These Walls
by EMlit88
Summary: Short, alternate version of a scene from the 2x19 "Klaus" episode. He told himself that he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice…but he had never met Elena. Elena/Elijah one-shot.


**Title: Break Down These Walls**

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it.**

**Summary: Short, alternate version of a scene from the 2x19 "Klaus" episode. He told himself that he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice…but he had never met Elena. Elena/Elijah one-shot.**

**A/N: So I've been intrigued by the Elena/Elijah dynamic for a while now, but this is my first Elena/Elijah fic, courtesy of their interaction in the recent "Klaus" episode (I swear they had a moment!). Obviously, major spoilers ahead. The beginning of this is basically the tail-end of Elena and Elijah's revealing conversation.**

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><p>Elijah takes her jacket and offers it to her. He simply looks ahead and waits for her to leave with him. But Elena has other thoughts.<p>

"You cared about her, didn't you?" Elena's voice is soft and sympathetic.

"It's a common mistake, I'm told," he begins, his voice never wavering, "It's one I won't make again." He looks her in the eye, and she thinks she sees a flash of pain in his eyes, but in a second it's gone. The conversation is over and he goes to leave her. Before she can comprehend what she is doing, she quickly grabs his arm. He turns to face her again, his face still completely stoic.

"You loved her."

"Loved. Past tense," he notes briskly.

"This hatred between you and Klaus…it's because of Katherine."

"No," he says without hesitation, "Katherine is no longer the woman my brother and I both met." Elena nods her head in understanding. There is a look in his eyes that Elena can't quite place a finger on, but she thinks it's a mixture of disappointment and affection. Even for someone with centuries of experience in hiding his true feelings, Elena's not surprised he can't hide his love for Katerina. Elijah, for all of his calm and monstrosity at times, was actually very trusting and open. Elena thinks those qualities must have carried over from his human days, and she's glad that he hasn't completely let go of those traits. Elena wouldn't be here, asking for his help, after all.

"So it was because of Katerina," she corrects herself. She has the sudden urge to take his hand but she decides against it. She was always so reverent and second-guessing herself when it came to him.

When Elijah doesn't respond back to her, she takes it as a confirmation.

"Tell me about her," Elena urges. The information Elijah has just told her about Klaus and his curse changes everything and she needs to tell Stefan and Damon soon, but there's something that's holding her back. Maybe it's the quick beating of her heart or the intense stare he gives her, but there's something telling her to stay for a bit longer…to hear his whole story.

She sees Elijah's face contort in indecision, and she suddenly doesn't want to push him anymore. She was always aggressive when it came to Elijah, but that was always because she thought she needed to be. Now, it seems that he was a lot like her – using his confidence to cover up his misery.

"You don't have to," she tells him softly. Her voice shoots through his undead heart and Elijah swears that this girl – this _human_ – does something to him that makes him unworthy of being considered a vampire.

And he breaks.

"Her face was so innocent…so pure," he whispers, gently sweeping his fingers across her jawline.

Elena freezes at the contact. The overwhelming sensation of his cold, rough hands on her face jumpstarts her heart into a frenzy. He has never laid a hand on her before, at least never so gentle or without motive. She doesn't know if she should be scared of or encouraged by this new occurrence. After mistaking her for Katerina earlier, she's not sure if he's still delusional even after his feeding, so Elena reaches up and clasps her hands over his to stop him.

But the steady look in his eyes tells her he's not dreaming, and the gentle touch of her hands tells him she's real.

"Katerina was demure, yet strong…" he continues, "There was always a light in her eyes."

"Elijah…" Elena sighs. She's never seen him like this – his guard down and his eyes glued to hers. She doesn't quite understand Katherine's appeal, but she thinks that she could understand Katerina's.

"She was fragile…but she knew how to keep it together."

She doesn't let go of his hands, and he never breaks her gaze.

"She was much like you actually," he murmurs. Elena's lips part at his comment but she honestly has no clue what to say to him. The look of surprise on her face is expected, but the look of sincerity on his is not.

Elena bites her lip, but she never even considers letting him go. She wants him to know that she trusts him, and she wants him to know that she understands.

Every breath and every movement is magnified tenfold, and she can't help but wonder if he can hear her blood pumping through her veins.

Because she can definitely feel it.

But in an instant, the moment is broken. He takes several steps back and loosens out of her grasp.

"We should be on our way."

The look in his eyes is blank, and Elena's never believed in an actual vampire switch until this moment. Elena looks dumbfounded at the quick turn of events. She nods her head, and occupies herself with the little tidbits of information Elijah has told her. Elijah hands over the jacket she placed on the chair at the start of this conversation again, but this time she takes it. He turns to leave and although she doesn't grab his arm this time, she manages to open her mouth to say something to him.

"Thank you for telling me that," Elena says quietly. He stops briefly but he doesn't look back.

When they leave together, she finally gets the courage to take his hand into her own. She squeezes it gently and smiles at him reassuringly.

Elijah doesn't return the smile, but there's some foreign feeling in the pit of his stomach at her warm gesture.

He can't help but think that Elena is gaining even _more_ power over him. By the time they see the Salvatore brothers fighting, her hand is by her sides and he just chalks it up to being hungry and dead for the past few months.

When she stands behind him and Elijah can't help but think about the way her arm is brushing against his back as one of the brothers tries to apologize to him, he thinks that being hungry and dead maybe isn't so bad after all.

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><p><strong>AN2: Thanks for reading, and reviews are appreciated!**


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